The present invention relates to a framework for supporting pieces of work station equipment, and more particularly to a console structure for supporting electronic equipment in the nature of computers, video monitors, control panels and the like.
Control consoles of the type described herein generally include a framework for receiving and supporting the necessary pieces of electronic and support equipment including terminals, monitors, keyboards, switchpanels, telephone turrets, lighting and so forth, and a planar work surface extending outwardly from the framework at a convenient height. Some of the equipment including video monitors and output displays is supported to be visible above the work surface for convenient viewing and user access. Attractive finishing panels are also usually supported by the basic framework.
To date, many work station consoles have been custom manufactured which in terms of design and construction is both expensive and time consuming. This approach has been necessitated by customer requirements that are often unique in terms of work station size, equipment placement, human engineering and cost considerations. In the result, the completed console structures are not only extremely expensive, but are also difficult if not impossible to subsequently modify for the reconfiguration of existing equipment or to retrofit new equipment. An alternative approach has been to assemble the consoles from fixed size modular sections. This approach can reduce costs, and although there may be some loss of flexibility with respect to subsequent modifications and reconfigurations of equipment within the console, there are simply many instances in which the cost savings outweigh the advantages of a system critically engineered to permit unlimited post-installation reconfiguration. Some flexibility must however remain.
A need therefore exists for a console structure which overcomes the problems inherent in either the custom design and manufacture or modular assembly of console structures. One such approach has been developed by the Applicant and is described in Canadian Patent 1,291,518 issued Oct. 29, 1991 (equivalent to U.S. Pat. No. 4,836,625).
The backbone of the console structure shown in the aforementioned patents are the horizontally spaced, vertically upright gable members 1 commonly referred to as G-frames. The gables are interconnected by stringers 2 to provide a rigid framework for the console structure. The spacing between gables is infinitely variable so that the framework as a whole is easily adapted to custom requirements both before and after initial on-site assembly. Because most of the equipment in the console is supported by or suspended from the interconnecting stringers, changing the distance between gables is not in and of itself all that disruptive of the system as a whole and particularly the equipment mounting hardware, and this lends the overall structure enormous flexibility. This flexibility comes however at a cost. The gables are metal fabricated usually from tubular steel and are therefore relatively expensive to manufacture and store. The stringers are typically aluminum extrusions and are therefore relatively inexpensive linear stock easily stored, but a lot of different stringers of different shapes and configurations depending upon function are required and an idea of the number and types of stringers needed can be seen from FIGS. 3 to 9 of the patent. This therefore also adds to cost and the need for significant inventory control The need for this number of stringers is made necessary in part because the gables, as aforesaid, are almost entirely structural in function and integrate no channels, interlocks or other mechanical means that increase their versatility or allow them to perform multiple tasks.
The Applicant has found that although there will continue to be a strong demand for the flexibility and retrofit capabilities of its G-frame consoles, and for more modular xe2x80x9cdiscreet logicxe2x80x9d systems that cost less, many customers now require accommodation for increasingly large pieces of equipment such as 26 inch monitors and increasingly tall computer towers. To accommodate such items, and to maximize the remaining available space for other pieces of equipment usually mounted below the monitors, it is increasingly desirable to further reduce the number of components making up the console framework. The more vertical and horizontal structural members eliminated, the greater the unimpeded space available for oversized equipment.
The Applicant has therefore developed a console system which is flexible enough to meet the demands of a custom environment, but wherein the number of components in the system is significantly reduced for cost savings. Many of the remaining components xe2x80x9cmulti-taskxe2x80x9d, assembly is made easier and less costly, and structural integrity is maintained.
The backbone of the new console structure described below consists of an upper beam extrusion adapted as a point of direct connection or contact for many of the present console""s components and from which monitor shelves or cradles can be directly suspended.
It is an object of the present invention therefore to provide a console structure comprising a relatively few basic components which can be easily assembled into a supporting framework for a wide variety of equipment pieces and shapes without major modifications to the basic components themselves.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a console framework providing as much unimpeded space therein as possible to maximize the adaptability of the framework for the mounting of different pieces of equipment at different locations, and the ability to meet custom requirements using the same basic components.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a console framework in which equipment can be suspended from an upper structural beam.
According to the present invention then, there is provided a console structure frame for supporting one or more pieces of equipment, comprising a plurality of horizontally spaced vertically upright column members; a beam member extending between said column members; and means for suspending said pieces of equipment said beam member.